Star Wars: Hope for Survival
by Giliathriel
Summary: Two Jedi Knights meet a girl with astonishing Forcehealing powers, and embark on a lifechanging journey where the three come facetoface with their destiny!
1. Prologue

_**Prologue**_

Seteryn Fiscan cried out in pain, agony striking her once again. A gurgled cry issued from her arms, and Seteryn studied the features of her only daughter's face. Carenen had been born two days earlier, with major complications on Seteryn's part. Now she knew she was doomed to die, as her pain worsened every moment.  
However, it was concern for Carenen that wrinkled her face with worry. Carenen had no father; she was an unexplainable enigma that had found sanctuary in Seteryn.  
Then her vision darkened with the image of a shining woman, with darkness looming over head. Unconsciously, she kissed her baby goodbye, and let the Force return her to the stars...


	2. Chapter 1

_**Chapter 1**_

Carenen Fiscan woke covered in sweat, trembling viciously. The last bits of her dream, one of a shining figure and perpetual darkness, fled as she clamored her way back to full consciousness. _The dream has become more frequent again, _she though, then dismissed it. She heard a knock on the door, and Meteryn admitted herself, and stood at the end of the bed, hands folded. "I'm sorry to have woken you, Caren, but there's been an emergency. I'll give you five minutes. We're in ME-17." With that, she left, leaving Caren to stare after her. She sighed, but she knew she had to go. Living on a Med ship meant constant work. Med-Station 1 was always in motion, popping out of Hyperspace here and there. She had to be on her toes.  
Through with her musing, she quickly dressed, and ran to the operating room, grabbing a med-droid along the way. "Shrapnel and Debris, but an unexplainable ailment as well..." it said, rambling and paying no attention to her. She made her way down the main hall, and when she turned the corner, a nurse ran up beside her, undoubtedly heading to ME-17 as well. "His name is Jardin, he's badly injured, he needs your help immediately! He hasn't accepted help from anyone else. We're hoping he'll answer to you."

Caren ran faster, and upon reaching the room, took one look at the unfortunate man, and set to work applying bacta patches. With the skill of a medical droid, she extracted shrapnel from his body, applying adhesive to keep the gaping wounds shut. It was a miracle he had even survived, and she didn't know how he had managed even to come out in one piece. Falling into the usual trance that came over her when she was healing, she heard muttered voices close to her ear. Although she was in a trance, they knew she would hear them. She could remember afterwards, and that was about the only clear detail she ever could recall. "It's truly amazing. His X-wing had been badly crippled, so he took refuge in the docking bay, when the bay was hit by a dead ship, which exploded on impact, causing everyone in the bay to be either killed immediately or badly injured. This man is one of the five survivors. He's in the worst shape, I'd say.

Caren, in a fuzzy haze of movement, suddenly registered another ailment no one had seen. His mind felt… she couldn't explain it. Dim, almost. Like a comm when it had been partially jammed. Her body still working, unknowingly she entered his mind, and felt a darkness all around. With a healer's instincts, and a nurse's protectiveness for her patient, she unconsciously attacked the darkness, banishing it from the body. Suddenly she felt completely exhausted, like she'd ran the length of the ship five times, equivalent to about 20 kilometers. Opening her eyes, she let out her breath, not realizing she had held it. Now she became aware that everyone was clustered about her, yelling out her name. "Caren!" Broodan cried, shaking her.

"What?" she cried, exasperated at being interrupted, and glaring at him.

"Sithspawn, Caren! We thought you were going to die! You weren't responding to any of us, and your blood pressure was dropping."

"I wasn't in any harm. I always go into a trance,"

"No, this was different. You've never been in so deep that we couldn't get you out." But before Caren could get a reply out, she heard a moan from the bed, and turned as her patient struggled to sit up.

"What are you doing!" She cried, shocked that he would even attempt. "You shouldn't be trying to sit up, not after the injuries you've sustained!"

"The physical injuries weren't what was putting me in such great pain. Considering how you fixed the mental one, I'm surprised you haven't figured that out," he said, grimacing as he lay back down, succumbing to the pain. Out of the corner of her eye, Caren saw another man, a pilot by his outfit, come up and put his hand on Jardin's shoulder. "There's something about you, healer…" he said, waiting for her name.

"Carenen Fiscan."

"Carenen. I tried to banish that darkness from his mind, but it didn't work."

"Who are you, and who authorized you to be in here?" Caren said, increasingly worried about this man. If he was one of those people obsessed with martyrdom, he could possibly blow up the entire ship on some vendetta.

"My name is Orril Dystop. I'm a Jedi Knight, I fly with this squadron. Jardin here is my wing-mate. As for who authorized me, it was the pilot of the ship, who contacted the necessary officials."

"A Jedi Knight, huh?" Caren said, skeptical. What were the chances a Jedi would be this far away from Coruscant, or Yavin, where the academy was?

"You don't believe me?" He said, making a motion with his hand, and Caren saw his lightsaber, if that's what it was, float in the air, unclipping itself from his belt. Caren, still skeptical, raised her eyebrow. Orril in turn gave her a significant look, making a chill go down her spine.

"Fine. I believe you. That good enough?"

"Very."

Caren returned her attention to her patient, who had fallen asleep. Already she could see that the bruises were fading, and that the wounds were looking diminished. Everytime she healed someone in a trance, they healed at least two times as fast as a normal wound would. She couldn't explain it. She just hoped it wasn't why the Jedi were here. If they had heard of her ability, maybe more people had. That would bring more people here. She couldn't heal everyone. And it would kill her to have to choose.

Turning away from the Jedi without another word, she walked out of the room, going back to her chamber. Musing, she assumed that it was just chance that the squadron was here, even if it did have two Jedi Knights in it. She didn't put any faith in the Force. After all, it took her parents 16 years ago, didn't it?

ëëë

Orril Dystop, newly made Jedi Knight, watched as the young healer left. There was something about her, that was obvious. He had observed that so-called trance, but knew it was not. Somehow, without even knowing it, she had become so concentrated that she lost track of everything else. According to everyone he'd asked, that was what normally happened. But this time she had gone into a Force-trance. For someone with untrained Force-potential, it was almost un-heard of. Although Orril had never heard of it before, others before him had proved it could be done.

Using to force to follow her, he quickly made his way to her room. He paused outside, not wanting to scare her. Although he could feel her exhaustion, she was still awake. Easing her into sleep with the Force, she responded immediately and feel into a deep sleep. Orril entered her room, and looked around. It was small, with white everywhere. _Typical_, he thought, _for someone working in those horrid rooms all day._ He moved closer to her head, where her auburn hair lay disgruntled on her face. He moved it aside, and recalled something Master Skywalker had lectured about three years ago…

_Orril was 15, in a group of his peers outside of the main Massassi Temple. He and his friends sat in the jungle forage, Master Skywalker seated as well, talking about something he had discovered around the time when he had opened the academy._

"This technique is the same technique I used on each of you to see if you had Force potential. I first used it on Leia, by accident. There is a place in the back of a human's mind, at least, that serves as an involuntary 'Force reaction' when touched by another's Force touch. Only a Force senser will have a reaction. Observe as I demonstrate on…

and Orril's memory faded, leaving him at the present. He reached out with the Force, touching the back of Caren's mind, searching for the place. It seemed like an eternity before he knew he had to have found it. A force slammed into him as he prodded a small spot, knocking him back a few meters, where he crumpled and fell. It was unusual to have that strong a reaction. The only people he'd ever met with one like that were Master Skywalker and his nephew, Anakin Solo. _This one is strong,_ he thought. _It may explain that gift she has for speeding up the body's natural healing processes._

He got to his feet, and watcher her as she slept. _Was it the Force that brought me here, to find you?_


	3. Chapter 2

_**Chapter Two**_

Caren woke from her deep sleep, suffering from the same nightmare as always. She turned over, ruffling her sheets, and mused. It was essentially the same, except for one thing. This time, the figure had held a white lightsaber. As she made up her mind to get up, her hand struck a hard, round object. Shaking out the initial pain, she picked it up and held it to her dim light. It was a crystal, and although parts of it were clear, it was a milky white color. It was entirely smooth, oblong, and rather heavy. It was hard as well. _Well_, she thought. _Where did you come from?_ She stuck it into a hidden compartment in her wall where she kept a few things, and stood up. Looking out her window, she noticed that the black night and pinpricks of small light had changed to the sterile white of hyper-space. _Well, we must be in transit. But with injured on board, why are we doing it now? We never have before._

Being as quiet as she could, she dressed and made her way out of her room. She looked down the hall, and started walking. She made her way to the small diner reserved for long-term patients and employees. As she stepped into the room, nodding at the guards, a form seemed to materialize off to her right. She stopped and turned to meet the figure, and her eyes widened in surprise and suspicion. "You!" She cried, getting in front of the group of people behind them. She eyed the Jedi, boring into him with accusing eyes. _Jedi and their stupid mind tricks._ "What do you think you're doing in here!"

Orril Dystop just smiled at her. "I had to come see you again. We have some very important things to discuss."

"Like what? I don't have time to discuss things. People don't stop their pain so their healers can chat."

"I'm fully aware of that. It's just that-"

"It's just that nothing. _I don't have time for this._ Do you understand?" She said, enunciating each word distinctly and clearly. All she got out of him was a shrug.

"I thought you might be difficult. Just give me a minute," he said with a wave of his hand. Caren felt a bit of a pressure on her head, but that was it.

"Was that supposed to be one of those oh-so-feared Jedi mind tricks? They must be overrated." She wrinkled her nose in disgust. How could this Jedi come off so arrogant? They were supposed to be the humble but powerful servants of the New Republic. Orril sighed, and gave her a serious look.

"I'm trying to be serious, Caren. We need to talk about your future."

"My _future_? Isn't that obvious?" She gestured at the spaceship around her. "This is my future!"

"You're only a girl. You can't know that yet."

"I'm 16, and I've been healing since I was three. This is my _home_. Can't you see that? There is nothing to discuss." She turned to leave, but Orril grabbed her arm. She struggled with him for a bit, but his grip remained firm.

"I'll let you go this time, but just remember what I said. I'm willing to talk anytime." With that said, he swept his robes over him in a majestic movement, and left the room. Caren's friends, who had politely been avoiding the situation, turned to her, worry on their faces.

"What did he want? Was he threatening you?"

"No, it's nothing," Caren assured them. She got her food, which was hardly that, but she had lived off it her whole life, and hadn't gotten off badly. She was healthy, although a little undersized. But her small figure made it easy for her to get throw crowds of panicked people, so it was really an advantage, as well as small and sensitive fingers. Caren stood only at 5'4. The people that she had asked about her mother told her that her mother was at least 5'8, so that was a little intimidating. She hoped she didn't grow into _that_ height! Caren looked at her thin arms, with a little disgust. She didn't want to be _that_ thin. And to think, before new ways of weight-loss had been discovered, about a millennia ago, people actually starved themselves! The idiocy.

Compared to most, Caren's delicate features, square but a little wide face, and deep brown eyes made most people think she wasn't that strong-willed. That was usually before they tried to force their way into the ME ward. Most thought of her as physically weak, as well. Caren was surprisingly strong, as a result of a lifetime of carrying heavy equipment that she didn't trust the droids to handle.

She turned her food over and over, but after her meeting with that, that _Jedi_ she didn't feel remotely hungry. She stuck what looked like a vague imitation of a biscuit into the pocket of her uniform, white like everything else, and left the room.

ëëë

Orril paced the corridor outside the mess hall waiting for Caren to reappear. He thought that maybe he should've come off differently. He could sense her disgust for him, even now. _She can really hold a grudge, that one._ He knew it was partly his fault. The poor girl had lost her parents 16 years ago. She'd never even known them. In fact, she'd never even had a homeworld. He doubted if she'd ever even _been _on land. He supposed it was another of those things about her too-stubborn personality.

Orril, with nothing better to do, walked until he saw a bench. He sat down, and took out hit lightsaber. He had made it when he was almost 15, at the academy. Before his mother had left, when he was 12, she had given him a rosy pink crystal. It had rough and ragged edges, but he had always carried it with him. When Master Skywalker had announced that they were building lightsabers, his mind had leapt immediately to his crystal. It turned out to be perfect. And, as far as he knew, he had the only pale-pink lightsaber in existence. The rest of his friends had favored blue or green lightsabers, in the fashion of the Jedi of the Old Republic.

Sighing, Orril opened himself up to the Force. Orril was a life senser, but not strong enough that every other mind drowned out those who were strong in the Force. He could vaguely make out Jardin, but in his healing state, it was dampened. Strong in his mind though was Caren. In his mind, she shone, and her thoughts were as sharp as a Force-pike.

In the days of the Old Republic, someone as strong as Caren would've been identified within the first few months of life, if not even before birth. But with the limited number of Jedi, that practice had been somewhat abandoned. And who would think to look for a force-sensitive child on a Med Station?

ëëë

"Well, you had quite a nasty accident."

Thanks to his rapidly improving condition, Jardin had been moved to a recovery ward. Caren had come down to make sure none of the wounds came open during transit. Jardin had seemed to like her company, so she stayed, and now she was checking for internal bleeding.

"Well, it looks like nothing bad happened on the way over here, and at this speed, I'd say you're out of here in two standard weeks."

"That's good to hear. A Jedi's work is never done."

"What were you doing out there, anyway?"

"We followed an Imperial Scouting Mission from close to the Imperial Remnant. We thought they hadn't noticed us, but they came out of Hyperspace early, and attacked us. Our analog frigate wasn't able to withstand all of it, and out shields failed. I lost my X-wing's life support, as well as shields, during a run0in with a TIE, but luckily the ship was close by, so I didn't have to go EV. Course, I'm here now, so maybe it wasn't luck."

"That's odd. I didn't think the Jedi were involved in fights with the imperials.

"Some aren't, some are. Me and Orril are in on it because we don't want another Vader, or an Emperor. I guess you could say we fight the dark side."

"The Dark Side, what is that?"

"The Dark Side is when a Jedi is corrupted. They used to be called Sith. A Jedi is supposed to act without anger and fear. A Jedi is to let go of emotion. Although Master Skywalker has proved that love and compassion do not lead to the dark side, I think that you can never be too sure. Skywalker's Jedi Master, Yoda, told him fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, and hate leads to suffering. Yoda survived Palpatine and Vader's purging. That has to mean something.

Jardin sighted and looked away, a piece of yellow hair falling on his face, which he brushed aside. He glanced back up at Caren, his face distorted with shame.

"I… I…"

"It's all right. The only one here is me."

"I fear the dark side. I know I'm better than this, but I do. There was a dark Jedi on that mission," he went on. "He, or she, clouded my mind. That was the darkness you felt. I guess it's your aptitude for psychic healing that helped you do it. Or you're incredibly strong, and I think you are."

"I'm sorry, but I don't quite understand."

"The Force. When you 'speed heal', you're using the Force. That 'trance' was a Force-trance. That means you're a Force-senser, like a Jedi is. A strong one. People with innate skill, such as you, are rare. Here, turn around."

Caren sat on the bed, avoiding his legs, and faced away from him. "What are you going to do?" she asked.

"I'm going to see how strong you are." With that, he placed his hands on her head, and she began to feel like someone was prodding her mind. The next thing she knew, Jardin was flying back, and nearly hitting the wall.

"Well", he said, "It looks like I was right. You _are _strong in the Force. Nearly as strong as Master Skywalker. Now I must go into a healing trance. It was nice talking with you." With that, he closed his eyes and sat, leaving Caren to wonder at what she had just found out.


	4. Chapter 3

_**Chapter 3**_

Caren found Orril in a hall near his fighter. He looked disheveled and tired, and he was wincing when he stepped with his left foot, but it gave Caren an excuse to talk to him, at least. She had her pride.

"Orril, what happened to your foot?" she called out, making him turn towards her with surprise. His eyes had bags, she noticed, but his blue eyes were clear and alert. He didn't answer, but pointed into an adjoining room. She saw a badly crippled X-wing, and wondered at the sight.

"Is that Jardin's?" She said with surprise.

"Yes," Orril replied. Caren's mouth opened in shock. No normal human could've survived it. One of it's S-foils was nearly ripped off, and it's cockpit looked like it had a thousand small holes in it.

"But no one could have survived that!" she cried. Orril gave her a look, then apparently decided she wasn't going to be difficult.

"He used a Force bubble to keep the pressure in. He also used the Force to bleed off excess energy, which saved both his life and the X-wing. It would've exploded when the S-foil was hit."

"Course, the bay was hit, so he'd been better off going EV in the long run," Caren said, then stopped. "Or perhaps not. He's making a good recovery. With all the crossfire going on out there, chances are high that he would've been killed. I've seen hundreds of pilots who weren't so lucky."

"Yes, but I was worried anyway. He's been my closest friend since before we left the academy. We studied together."

"On Yavin 4?"

"Yes. How did you kn-"

"This place gets millions of people. I hear things, from military types, smugglers and the like."

Orril nodded. Caren took off his shoe and looked at his foot, knowing fingers examining for bruises and breaks. Although his toes looked fine, he had a blister, a minor break, and some bruising. "Drop something?" she asked.

Orril jumped as if he'd been jarred out of thought.

"What? Oh, yeah." He gazed at her with tired blue eyes, and she found herself falling into their depths… _No_, she thought. _I can't let myself fall into a daze. I'm just tired._

Orril seemed to be going through the same effect. Caren decided to get to the point before he was too tired to talk.

"I remembered what you said this morning. I came to find you."

Orril drew back, his eyes narrowed and unfocused. He looked at her, both surprise and knowing etched into every feature of her face. Caren found herself finding that unlike her first impression of him, he was very good looking. He sighed with content, and looked away.

"I'm glad."

"Jardin told me what a dark Jedi is like. I… I don't want to be like that. What if instead of healing people, I turned to the dark side and killed them?" Caren asked rhetorically, with tears in her eyes. She sat down on the hard cold floor, and gazed fixedly ahead. Orril sat as well and moved closer and put his hand on her shoulder.

"You won't," he said with kind eyes. Caren felt that the bridge that had sprung up between them when they had first met had finally been crossed.

"I need training, I guess. Jardin said I was strong in the Force, whatever that means. I've heard tales from people who served the Empire in it's glory days. They would always say that besides being known as evil and ruthless, it was common knowledge to them that he was strong in the Force. I've heard stories how he would strangle on impulse, and nearly killed his own son. I don't want to be like that. Ever."

Orril nodded in approval, and seemed to consider things. "I know a few people. Would you say yes to most who asked?" he said seriously, searching her eyes for something.

Caren nodded, and instantly said, "Yes." She knew what was coming. Somehow.

"Then I take you as my apprentice."

Caren gave him a wry look, but nodded. It was, after all, why she had said yes. She had sensed what he was about to say. And Caren, to her great surprise, found herself enjoying it.

ëëë

Five hours later, Caren was back in her rooms, examining the crystal again. Orril had told her that she was old enough for a lightsaber, and what she needed to make one. She had gone around scavenging for spare bits of metal, until she had enough to assemble one. She sucked on a burnt finger, from welding the frame, and finished the frame. She inserted the power source, and connected it to the spot where the crystal would fit. She looked back at her crystal, and weighed it in her hand. She didn't know if it would work, but she wanted to try. She felt a connection to it. It and the frame, made from broken medical equipment, would remind her of her childhood here and all of the people who had taken a child whose mother had died, and raised her as one of them.

She inserted her crystal and finished welding the top onto the bottom of the frame, and added a few finishing touches. She chopped off the point of six needles, and welded them evenly arranged around the frame. She held it in her hand for a minute and looked at it. Beaming, she thumbed the power switch. With a snap-hiss a gleaming white blade ignited, and remained humming, an elegant blade extending from a gleaming chrome and bronze handle, blazing in Caren's hand. She examined it again. She had built it so it would be skinny and a little bit shorter than Orril's, perfect for her palms, and fitting for her height. She reveled in the way she could _feel_ her blade. It was like she could see it in her mind. Orril had said that without training, but the concept, she would be able to see something she had done during extreme concentration. He was right. She deactivated her lightsaber by thumbing the switch again, since she didn't want to worry about her blade going off in the middle of combat, a feature she had made sure to add, when the ship began to shake and the lights blinked on and off. She grabbed onto her bed, and held on for dear life as the ship rocked on it's axis, and objects fell around her. She could hear screams out in the corridors, and she knew that she'd have a lot of work to do with her patients.

Finally, the shaking stopped, and she picked herself up off the floor. Her shelves had come off the wall, and their objects were scattered on the floor. She mentally checked herself for injuries, and finding none, turned to the black and orange patch she saw in the corner of her eye.

Looking closely, she saw that they had entered realspace, and that the orange was a massive gas giant. Orbiting the planet were several large moons, and a few of them were green and blue, telling Caren that they held life. She had never seen this planet before, which both surprised and didn't surprise her. Although she had seen a lot of planets, and most of the major inhabited ones, she could never see them all.

Her comlink buzzed and she answered it, knowing she was probably hearing a mass message. "We will be landing on one of the moons shortly. We took some damage coming out of hyperspace, so be prepared for a rough landing."

Caren listened and gazed at the surrounding space. There were no major freighters that she could see, and it seemed to have little or no planetary defense.

ëëë

Orril sat with Jardin as the ship descended toward the jungle moon, looking through a transparisteel window. To him, this was the only place he had ever been able to truly call home. It was the only place where he'd been truly accepted. Before, on Coruscant, he had been taunted for his powers, and his insights that the Force gave him. This was home. Jardin looked just as anxious and excited as he did. They hadn't been here since they day they'd been knighted. Coming home was a bittersweet experience.

The ship drew closer to the gas giant, and began to orbit, Orril noticed, in the same course the Death Star had taken 15 years ago. Orril and Jardin had been young during the time of the Empire, but both could still remember the day the night had lit up with cheers and fireworks, and the fighters of the triumphant Rebel Alliance. Although they had been seven at the time, they both had known what it meant. The Stormtroopers were gone. They didn't have to live in fear anymore.

It was this that made Orril proud to serve the New Republic. No, he wasn't proud. He _loved_ it. Much as he hated politics, he admired what it stood for: democracy, freedom, and peace. Without those ideas, Orril was sure that the New Republic would crumble, as the Old Republic had long ago when Palpatine had declared it an Empire, on what was called Empire day. He still got the chills when he thought of Palpatine's apprentice, Vader. He had only seen him once, but it was enough. He had felt Vader's anger and evil, even though he was untrained in the Force. It had been that strong. Orril knew he was lucky to have been passed by that day. The one Vader had been after had met a horrible fate. Even now, Orril was so terrified of what had happened to talk about it.

Shaking his head to rid himself of that though, he looked at Jardin. Jardin's lips were tight, and his face was creased with lines of worry. Overall, he still looked worse for wear. The emotional stress was beginning to take a toll. Orril knew that Jardin sometimes wished that he had stayed on Coruscant. Life would've been easier. Orril himself sometimes wished that he lived back in the days of the Old Republic, and the Jedi Council. Back then, he would've lived in the Jedi Temple from near birth, and he would've grown up under democracy. Although his life would be planned out for him, he knew he would be doing good. Now, it was a lot less clear what it was you were supposed to do. Some Jedi now settled minor disputes, one of Orril's peers had even gone into hiding. The Jedi Council no longer existed. Although being a Jedi was exciting in itself, it was a mundane life in some respects.

"I sense apprehension in you, Orril."

"I sense you're getting into my head," Orril shot back, with a wink in Jardin's general direction.

"I can't help myself from feeling feelings that are just thrown out there. Even you, thick as you are, should remember that," Jardin said with a touch of humor in his voice.

"Has it ever occurred to you that I may be getting prematurely senile?"

Jardin snorted and sent a gentle Force shove in Orril's direction.

"Is that all you've got?"

"Come on, Orril. You've always been the warrior slash mediator. I'm only the philosopher."

"Not to mention the joker."

"So I can't help myself. Besides, someone needs to lighten up your mundane existence. You're too serious."

"That being serious has gotten you out of a lot of sticky situations."

"My joking has saved you from dying of boredom, and you know it."

"Perhaps."

"You know I'm right."

"You make it so hard to like you sometimes."

"Oh, come one. You're the closest thing I have to a brother. You're my best friend."

"And you're the same to me. Growing up, I never had any siblings. Or any friends, for that matter. You were the first one I never had. You're my brother, nothing will change that."

"Ah, so you _were_ joking?" Jardin said with a weird look on his face.

"There's no winning with you, is there?"

"Nope," Jardin said with a triumphant tone.

Orril gave Jardin a playful glare, and his face broke out into a rare smile.

"Well, look at that. The ever serious Orril is _smiling_."

"Oh, stop it. Did I tell you that I took Caren as my apprentice?"

Jardin's eyes widened a tiny bit, his pupils narrowing. Orril sensed a wave of emotion from him, mingled with both disappointment and shock.

"Well, I guess you beat me to it, then. I was rather hoping to ask her myself."

Orril looked at him with a critical eye. Jardin had been plagued with visions of the future since he was a little boy. Training in the Academy had given him control, so now visions came at will. It was also uncharacteristic for Jardin to _want _to be a mentor. He'd rather just have fun.

"You saw something, didn't you?"

Jardin's face fell, and he looked away. He was carefully hiding his emotions.

"Jardin, I need to know. What did you see?"

"I saw that without training, she will be killed by the dark Jedi we were chasing. There was an alternate future as well. She will, again without training, inadvertently set a series of events flowing that will kill thousands, maybe millions. I tried to see a future with her trained, but it was blocked from me."

Blocked from Jardin? How can that be? Jardin was powerful. He'd never been unable to see anything before.

"But that doesn't make any sense," Orril said, frown lines creasing his forehead.

Jardin shrugged. "Not much does, these days."

They stared out of the window in silence, while huge trees flash by, and a clearing opened up before them. In that clearing was a landing pad, and several large Massassi stone temples. A solitary figure was walking out of the main temple, but was too far away to identify. Orril gazed at it all, quick eyes picking out the familiar sights of Yavin's fourth moon. He glanced over at Jardin, who had a look of anticipation on his face, avidly gazing out of the window.

Jardin turned to Orril, his eyes bright.

"We're home," he said.

ëëë

The solitary figure approached the massive medical ship. It shuddered as the repulsorlifts were cut and it settled onto its landing gear, which looked like many small spider legs. The main hatch opened and the landing platform extended, settling onto the landing pad with a soft _clank_.

The figure crossed its hands in front of it, but did not lower the hood that cast a shadow across its face. The figure was tall, but the one feature that stood out with its face covered in the hood were the two piercing blue eyes peering out of the shadow.


End file.
